A Deep Breath

July

I am able to take some time to breathe now. While my new employment is still moving along successfully, summer school has ended… taking a big weight off my shoulders. And the “B” I earned in that Calc II class is very satisfying for the condensed 6 weeks of math that it was!

Take that you lengthy Maclaurin Series and you loopy Integrals by Trigonometric Substitution!

I started to realize how demanding both a new job and a quick paced summer school session was when I got a very curt “HI” from my meter. It was a week of firsts. First week at Starbucks, first angst inducing math exam, and my very first glucometer reading over 500. After that knee jerk of a blood test result, a redly backgrounded vision of me throwing that meter into the wall flashed into my head. If I had high blood pressure problems, I’m sure something would have popped!

The high blood sugar trend felt itself appropriate to continue in the weeks to follow. I am convinced my body is using diabetes as a way to punish me. “If you would only sit on the couch with a movie, I would behave”, my inner diabetes voice tells me. But instead I am waking up at 3:00 am to open for business at my new second home—work. I am eating sporadically, sometimes indulging on discounted Starbucks treats. And able to test my numbers much less frequently than I want.

All that… and throw in uncalculated moments to inject my daily Lantus. Instead of one time daily(suggestively at the same time), it’s more like one time daily(at the closest convenient time)—and it hasn’t been convenient.

I am settling in to the new cycle more and more each day. My days at Starbucks are becoming more routine and there are less and less skills for me to master. I am becoming more aware of how diabetes unfriendly the menu board is with each shift. Mixing Frappuccinos, Mochas, Macchiatos, and the such, have found me grimacing with each additional pump of syrup, spray of whip cream, or drizzle of chocolate that the recipes call for. It is not for the lack of “friendly” items available, but the requests of the majority of customers, that compels me to concoct these drinks.

More on Starbucks and the menu at another time though.

For the time being, I will put in my hours and collect a paycheck. Edging closer to my receipt of health insurance benefits. And oh ya, keep my numbers in check at the same time!

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One comment

Hey,
Too funny you mentioned Starbucks and the carbs…just today I was telling my sister about going into a local Starbucks. I was trying to make up my mind on the various choices, and explained to the helpful clerk that I was diabetic and wanted something different (more healthful) than my usual Frappacino. Maybe a latte, I said…she suggested adding vanilla. I asked if they had sugar free vanilla – yes – great, that’s what I’ll have. Thinking I had made a better choice for my diabetes, it was only when I got into my car that I noticed that the top 1/3 was whipped cream! So much for the clerk understanding my needs! I’ll know to be more specific in the future….
Thanks for your blog,
Patricia